Usual reasons to SIN: ‘I am young, my desires endless’

At dawn with the night slowly easing away and the daylight peering out onto the horizon. A thought slowly formed. At fajr prayer, the thought was to take form and the idea was instilled. I just happened to have wondered then, how at times when we seek to justify committing sins. Our pathetic excuses are “we are forever young, our desires see no bounds and as a result we are forever more victims of the temptations of life”. Even though we have the examples of the companions in front of us. It still is not a means to hinder our determined approach to committing the sin. To undermine the valiant examples of the companions, with a satanic thought instilled in our occupied minds, we think “they were old and frail, gone past the ages of desires and temptations when they became muslims. ALso they did not face the age of fitna as we do now. Everywhere there is nudity and sin”. Tantamount to the blasphemous thought as it is. It is one of the frequent insidious thoughts we as muslims entertain when it comes to the situations of justifying the need to rebel. The hormone raging youth are forever more entertaining this idea. When told otherwise of the illustrious examples, an alternate lifestyle to follow they are thinking of such thoughts.
Contrary to this widespread idea, Most of the companions when they became muslims were young. In fact in their early teenage years, at an age where “temptations are high and desires are flaring everywhere”. They also faced more of a disastrous situations than we do. When, not only was there fitna in societies rampant. There was widespread nakedness publically displayed, in face of common gatherings and social interactions. People used to do tawaf aronund the kabah naked!. Now, yes, it is true our times are evil and full of fitna, it however, has not reached to the level of the companions time and age. We do not see naked people walking up and down the streets!
Take for example Syyiduna Ali (ra), he was 8 years old when became a muslim. Syyiduna Musab ibn Umar (ra) who used to lead the most lavish lifestyles and fashions of the day was only 16/18 years old when he converted – the most desirous boy/young man of the age. They too would have been tempted by the same things todays youth are inflicted with. – Drugs, women, alcohol and the like. Yet, whats so different that they managed to overcome these very same obstacles we face. They were also humans like us, faced and went through the same hormonal changes we do. SO what excuse can we really have to say or even use as an argument?

On the day of judgement when we claim ‘i was young Allah and could not avoid the sins. It was all to tempting for me’. Allah will bring forward the likes of syyiduna Musab ibn Umar (ra), and say he also went through the same situations as you. He was also a young muslim. He also faced the temptations of women, drugs, alcohol, gambling etc, even worse situations where he had to leave behind everything. Family, home, friends. You were not the only ‘young’ to walk the earth. You did not have to leave behind family, friends or even your home’. What will we say then? Our flimsy argument will fail to stand up on these grounds. Personally speaking, on countless occasions i have my self found victim to this satanic thought. ‘Dont worry you are young, live life and enjoy. when you get old you can start praying, being righteous’. But, when will that time come. The 20 year old thinks when he is 30 he’ll/she change. The 30 year olds think ‘when im 40 ill stop, lets enjoy a few more years’. The 80-year-old thinks ‘ill stop when im 90’! This game of shadows is endless. If one does not do it now, you will never do it.

The companions also faced the same thing we are facing now. For the youth who usually think when they hear about companions, ‘they were old and mature people, who were able to do all these good deeds because of their age’. Should see something coming towards them. No! they were not all ‘old and mature’, most of the companions were teenagers or in their early 20s when they choose to become muslims! Just the same ages you or i am now. The same temptations to look, drool and fantasise over women/men. The want to ‘experiment’ with alcohol and drugs were also their obstacles to overcome. They overcame them, just like we can. There is no excuse ‘we are living in an age of fitna and trouble’. The companions faced far greater situations and drama than we are. Naked dance girls everywhere, open vileness, nudity and adultery being committed widespread. These are not the scenes of our streets and times, but the scenes from the times of the companions. To have an adolescent shun all these and to choose to become a muslim in the face of all these temptations sends us endless lessons of how we can (if we really wanted to) overcome all these vices in societies.